"Looking to get a little more production out of the bottom third of the order," manager John Farrell said before the game.

Both moves paid off, albeit in a 2-1 loss. Snyder provided Boston's only run of the night with a Pesky Pole home run off Price in the sixth. Lavarnway doubled in the eighth, and Daniel Nava represented his run when he was erroneously called out at home later in the frame.

Snyder has played very sparingly over the last three weeks, with Monday marking just his third start since July 6. In his brief major-league career, Snyder has grown accustomed to trying to stay sharp despite irregular playing time.

"Last year was my learning year to get adjusted to it," he said. "I was able to learn how to do the small things, like when to get your work in, when to take some days off and just keep trying to progress and get your reps in.

"I don't know if you ever really figure it out. You just have to make sure mentally you stay in that zone of 'I'm ready to come to the ballpark every day to play.'"

Snyder said Farrell does make it easier by letting players know when they're going to be in the lineup the night before.

The hardest part for Snyder might be the opposing pitcher. He'll face David Price on Monday night after seeing Matt Moore last week and Andy Pettitte before that.

"It doesn't bother me," Snyder said. "To me, it's just another guy on the mound. There's really no pressure for me. We have a really good lineup all the way down. It's not like I really need to do anything special -- just try to execute."

Lavarnway will finally spell Saltalamacchia, who has started 28 of 36 games since David Ross went down.

"This is as much a down day for Salty as it is to keep Ryan in the mix," Farrell said.

The day off came at a good time for Iglesias, whose drop-off in production has been precipitous this month. He was hitting .415 on July 2; he's 14-for-77 since, with just one extra-base hit. Iglesias has just four hits in his last 40 at-bats -- none for extra bases. He hasn't walked in that stretch, either.

"He's been attacked early and often in the strike zone," Farrell said. "Whether he's fallen behind in the count or expanded the zone on occasion -- I can't say that he's chased wildly by any means -- some of the balls that he had the benefit of falling in before haven't been of late. I don't think he's striking out at an abnormal rate. He's putting the ball in play and some of those aren't finding holes."

Indeed, Iglesias' average on balls in play has been half of what it was earlier, from .470 on July 2 to .212 since.